hadn’t been in vain. All of the meetings he had attended were going to pay off. He missed the meetings but trusted Leonard Wise. It was better for him to study at home now, while he helped Mr. Wise prepare Silver Valley for what was coming.
Leonard Wise was always right. He was a brilliant man who had come to save Silver Valley. It all made sense. Silver Valley High School was a nest of lies, the way the innocent children of their community were being indoctrinated into society’s evil ways. The Rainbows club’s existence only cemented it.
He’d done what he had to: sent adequate warning that the likes of their sick morals wouldn’t be tolerated. That stupid chemistry teacher thought he was so smart, so savvy, helping the kids get into faraway colleges where their sinful lives could be lived out without their parents watching over them. And there was another problem. Most of the parents in Silver Valley were just as stupid and blind as their children.
But he saw what was happening. Leonard Wise and his brave teachings had enlightened him, given him a reason, a purpose. He was going to bring down the Rainbows and all the students in the group. Mr. Wise would be so pleased, because it would help bring more members to their effort. Once the Rainbows were gone, and the school wasn’t able to function, the parents would be forced to see that their children were running wild. That they needed discipline. That their girls needed to be dedicated to New Thought and to bring new members into the fold in the best, most pure way. Through perfect births.
But first he had to take out the man at the center of the Rainbows. The idiot teacher who was poisoning the children with the same sick lies that were plastered across all the newspapers and internet.
Mr. Mitch Everlock.
“Isn’t it risky to talk here?” Mitch Everlock placed a hand on the dark counter at the front of the classroom. “And you didn’t have to tell me who you are, Nika. I knew the minute you walked in.”
Nika wondered if he’d felt the same zing of attraction she had. His eyes were a deep holly green, sparkling like her favorite emerald earrings. Nika had left them on her dresser this morning as she’d prepared to come into Silver Valley High undercover. Her relief at Rachel’s acceptance of her as a student was derailed by the disapproving expression on Mitch Everlock’s face.
“You saw me check out the classroom for any students. I’m not here to play games, Mr. Everlock. As far as anyone is concerned, we’re just a student and teacher, right?” She shrugged, hoping the move she’d practiced looked like a typical adolescent gesture. He wasn’t what she’d expected and he made her nervous. The dowdy chemistry teacher she’d imagined was instead a hot stud. The kind of man she’d normally love to have a night or two with. Before she let him go. Because she always let them go.
“How old are you, Nika?”
“Let’s just say I graduated college while most of my ‘classmates’ were still in middle school. These kids were being born when I went through this same school at their age.” She made air quotation marks.
“Huh.” He stood back from the counter and stretched, affording her a nice view of his broad chest and lean hips. He started arranging beakers and scales on the laboratory surface, ignoring her. He didn’t fool her—his movements were meant to distract her, throw her off her game. “Why weren’t you at the station when I filed my report three days ago? I would have remembered you.” His voice was like a sexy caress and she hated herself for the clichéd comparison, damn it.
“Three days ago? I was on a domestic call. I didn’t know I’d be working the Rainbow Hater case with you until last night.” She hadn’t asked to be assigned to babysit a teacher who couldn’t keep control of enough of his classroom and students to already have cornered whoever had left the threats. But no one had asked for her opinion.
“Whoa, Nika. We’re not ‘working’ on anything together, not officially. I’m a Marine vet, no longer working any kind of cases or missions. I’m simply a chemistry teacher. If you have orders to be here, okay, but I’m fine on my own. I can handle whoever this idiot is. You called him the Rainbow Hater?”
“Yes.”
He was not going to make this any easier and Nika was tired of working with egos. She’d survived the ugliest breakup of her life last year and, in retrospect, saw that her ex had been egocentric. Sometimes she wished she could break up with people she worked with. Like this Everlock dude. For once couldn’t someone she had to deal with be reasonable, the yin to her yang? His tone made her want to scream. Instead she remained silent, waiting for him to speak.
“That’s fitting, because whoever it is has a lot of hate issues for the Rainbows. And while I appreciate you’ve been sent here to do your job, you have to understand that I’m the one who knows these kids. I’ll figure out who it is.”
“Are you really fine on your own? The messages have gotten more personal, aimed at you. If the kook who left the most recent message decides to come in here with a weapon, you think you can handle it? Keep all your students safe?”
“You bet your...bottom dollar I can, Nika. I don’t believe it’ll come to that, though. Do you, really?” As he asked she saw him check her out again. His gaze lingered on her breasts before he made an assessing sweep, pausing as he looked at her lower legs. Did he think she had a weapon holstered to her calf? She gripped her designer bag, courtesy of the local thrift shop frequented by teens, tightly over her shoulder, ready to retrieve her pistol if need be.
“I try to never underestimate a criminal, Mr. Everlock.”
“Stop thinking I’m your enemy. As long as I’m in the classroom, my students are safe.” His confidence didn’t come across as boastful but matter-of-fact.
She forced her fingers to relax from the leather bag’s handle, rested her hip on a student desk. Her face was hot and she damned her pale skin, which she knew had to be obviously red. “I don’t think that at all. You were right. We should save our talk for later, either after hours or at the station.”
“So Nika is your real name?” His eyes were closer to jade than emerald, she decided.
“Of course. It’s much easier to keep up the ruse with my real first name. ‘Collins’ is not my surname, though. Fortunately most of the students I’ve met haven’t asked for my last name.”
“They’re too busy studying for semester finals, dreaming about the holiday break and figuring out who to take to the Silver Bells Ball in a few weeks. At least, this crowd is. My other classes are mostly doing well, but the last class of the day, the General Science group, is struggling. I’m lucky if I get half the class to even attend.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Just so you know, I’ll be coming in and out of your different classes if that’s okay.”
“How are you going to explain that to the students? Won’t they expect you to attend a variety of subjects, just like they do?”
She shook her head. “I’m telling them what you heard here. I’m a transfer who only needs to clock classroom time for the state of Pennsylvania so that I can get my degree by May. Which class I do it in doesn’t matter. And since I’ve received several scholarship offers, and want to major in chemistry, it makes perfect sense that I want to spend my time here.”
“I don’t suppose you ever took chemistry?”
“In high school, and one semester in college. I wasn’t a big fan of it, though. I do know my way around a meth lab, unfortunately.” If her chemistry teacher had looked as good as Mitch Everlock she might have considered becoming a pharmacist. Not that she’d tell him that.
“Is there anything we need to go over? Do you have any questions about what I’ve been dealing with?”
“That’s best left for outside class hours, don’t you think? Is there any way you can meet me at SVPD headquarters after